Sodium nitrate and ATS to reduce phosphate

[joeyvu]

Hello reefers.

I don't know if this is posted before about sodium nitrate dosing with ATS to reduce phosphate. I have read several blogs here on RC about this and now have a chance to try it out.

I have been cooking some of my rock came from a crash tank. I tried vinegar with no result of bring down PO4 which was about 1-3 (salifert kit) and NO3 is almost 0 (salifert) for several weeks. I then ordered NaNO3 online and dosed about 1g/day in 40gal tank with rock and some soft corals there. It did not reduce (still in 1-3 range) much only to increase skimmate. Then I added a DIY ATS and bingo. After three days, I can see algae growing in the mesh and after one more week with 2g/day, my PO4 reduces to 0.1-0.25, NO3 still in around 0, brown algae almost covers the mesh completely. All the soft coral seems to be happier.

I will try to see if I can load some of my iphone photos of the ATS mesh with growing algae here.

Joey

 

[joeyvu]

Here are the photos.

 

[Dan_P]

How do you know the brown scum is algae and not cyanobacteria? Just wodering.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

When you were dosing vinegar, you may also have been nitrate limited.

If anything, carbon dosing will be more nitrate focused than algae, so you may need to keep some nitrate present if you hope to bring phosphate way down with it.

 

[joeyvu]

@ Dan: I am not sure if it is cyano or not, but it is not stringy, it is only present at the mesh of the ATS. Now I begin to see green algae appear on the mesh as of this morning.

@ Randy, I have heard you and other member said that before too and I tried vinegar as well, yet I did not see dramatic result as the ATS. Maybe I did not add enough vinegar.

But now I am happy to see PO4 going down and it is what I want.

Just want to share the info to others..

JOey

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Randy, I have heard you and other member said that before too and I tried vinegar as well, yet I did not see dramatic result as the ATS. Maybe I did not add enough vinegar.

Not as dramatic with respect to nitrate reduction? Is that what you mean?

 

[joeyvu]

Randy, in my case, yes. maybe i did not add enough amount of vinegar and also I did not add any kind of bacteria too.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

OK, I wasn't sure if you just meant phosphate reduction.

 

[dartier]

I ran an ATS for about a year and also noticed that dosing Nitrate (and Iron) was very effective at lowering PO4 as long as I kept up with the cleaning of the screen. You need to keep a close eye on PO4 though as you can drive it pretty low using the extra Nitrate and an ATS.

Unfortunately I was the weak link in the process, and I was not able, (or willing) to clean the screen as often as the optimum required. I ended up with GHA eveywhere in the tank.

I have since retired the ATS and went to a DIY'd self cleaning Zeovit reactor that I dose vinegar (and Nitrate and Iron) into. Now with no help from me the reactor spins itself every 3 hours flushing out lots of stringy bacteria into my fuge (which Munid Isopods go gaga for) for the pods and skimmer to export.

Dennis

 

[joeyvu]

Thanks for the info. I am still monitoring the phosphate level every three days untill it reaches 0.03 and then I stop dosing NO3. I just tried to place some SPS in this tank and so far PE really good and color seems to be stable after one week now...

joey